Análise de testes de conglutinaçäo rápida para detecçäo de anticorpos contra Babesia bovis e Babesia bigemina / Evaluation of rapid conglutination tests for detection of antibodies against Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina

Testes de conglutinaçäo rápida foram desenvolvidos para detecçäo de anticorpos contra Babesia bovis e B. bigemina. O primeiro (TCR-B. bovis) apresentou resultados idênticos à imunofluorescência indireta (IFI), na detecçäo de anticorpos resultantes da vacinaçäo com cepas atenuadas de B. bovis, enquanto que o segundo teste de conglutinaçäo (TCR-B. bigemina) divergiu em três dos seis animais na fase inicial da soroconversäo. Aos 28 e 56 dias pós-vacinaçäo (PV) houve coincidência total de resultados. A correlaçäo entre os TCR-B. bovis e IFI no exame dos soros de bovinos de sete estados brasileiros foi de 86,2 por cento, enquanto que a correlaçäo entre TCR-B. bigemina e a prova de imunofluorescência foi de 95,6 por cento. Os resultados demonstraram que os testes de conglutinaçäo podem ser empregados em estudos epidemiológicos com eficiência comparável à imunofluorescência indireta

Anaplasmosis in Uganda. I. Use of dried blood on filter papers and serum samples for serodiagnosis of anaplasmosis--a comparative study

The suitability of blood collected on filter papers in comparison with corresponding conventional serum samples in the diagnosis of bovine anaplasmosis was studied using the complement fixation test; DOT-ELISA; Western immunoblot and rapid card agglutination test. Dried blood on Whatman filter paper no. 1 was eluted in PBS 0.05pc Tween 20 giving an initial dilution of 1:10. The reactivity of the eluted samples in both DOT-ELISA and Western immunoblotting were similar to those obtained with the corresponding straight serum sample dilutions. Filter paper samples gave lower reactivity in the remaining tests when compared with corresponding serum samples. There was no significant difference in the reactivity between the eluates from filter papers stored at temperatures ranging between 15.5 and 24 degrees C and those kept refrigerated. Storage at 15.5 to 24 degrees C did not significantly affect reactivity for up to six months. Eluates from filter papers stored for six months at 15.5 to 24 degrees C continued to give similar reactivity as those from freshly prepared filter papers in both DOT-ELISA and Western blot; and in the rapid card agglutination test. It is concluded that collecting blood on filter papers is a suitable technique for large scale seroepidemiological studies on anaplasmosis and offers many advantages in developing countries where transport and cold chain facilities are a major constraint

Anaplasmosis in Uganda. II. Prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in Uganda

The prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis was studied in 320 Zebu cattle randomly selected from three regions of Uganda: (Central; Southwestern and Northwestern) using dot-ELISA; Western immunoblotting; rapid card agglutination test (RCAT); capillary tube agglutination test (CAT); complement fixation test (CFT); and parasitological techniques. Dried blood on Whatman filter paper No. 1 was eluted in PBS 0.05pc Tween 20 prior to testing at an initial dilution of 1:25. The prevalences of parasitaemia were 25pc in the central region; 28pc in the southwestern region; and 35pc in the northwestern region; and the serological prevalence was lowest in the central region and highest in the northwest. Overall; prevalence rates obtained by dot-ELISA (61.9pc) and Western immunoblotting (62.5pc) were 1.5 times those obtained by RCAT (41pc) and three times those obtained by CAT (22.5pc). The overall prevalence rates obtained by dot-ELISA and Western immunoblotting compared favourably with the CFT data. The present data utilizing dried blood on filter papers indicate that there is a high prevalence of anaplasmosis in those regions of Uganda surveyed; and confirm our observations and those of others that collecting blood on filter papers is a suitable technique for large scale screening and for seroepidemiological studies